Students Display Art Work From ‘Literacy Through Photography’ Program

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The results of the first “Literacy Through Photography” program in Philadelphia is being displayed at the galleries of Moore College of Art and Design.

Students in seven classrooms at five Philadelphia schools were given cameras and told to document what was around them and then write journal entries about their experiences. The result, says Moore galleries interim codirector Elizabeth Gilly, was not only interesting photographs, but increased literacy skills, better interaction and more self confidence. And the communities near the schools will also benefit.

(Photograph by Kathleen Troy, William Cramp Elementary School)

“Twelve student photographs have been selected to be made into three-by-six foot banners and put down the street,” Gilly says.

But Gilly says it’s about more than just a school assignment, “These kids are coming in with a whole new sense of confidence and a new ability to write in a different way and they’ve already improved in how they work together in the classroom.”

Ten-year-old Ashley Esperra of William Cramp Elementary School took photos of her teacher: “I took pictures of my teacher, because I wanted people to know about a teacher who inspired me to become a teacher myself.”